Late summer. It’s hot, it’s busy with vacations, wrangling the garden, social engagements, maybe even work. You need something easy to grill! We sell handy, one pound packages of our beef kebab/skewer cubes, ready to be marinated and spiked for easy cooking. They’re tender and evenly cut, each package meant to be enough for two servings.

So! Round yourself up some excellent veg from your favorite local farm and get cooking! We used small potatoes, spring onions, zucchini/summer squash and bell pepper. The gas grill used here is known to be hotter in the back and cooler in the front, so these skewers are balanced accordingly with sturdier veg like onions on the hotter area and peppers on the cooler. Know your grill.

Process all marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Or chop very fine and shake like heck in a mason jar! I used the small food processor attachment on my immersion blender.

Place marinade and beef cubes in a bowl that has a lid, toss with a spoon or spatula to coat. Refrigerate at least 1-2 hours, tossing a couple times.

Chop all your vegetables as you like them for skewers- See photos for reference but think two-bite sized chunks. Halve the zucchini, then slice in 1 inch pieces. Quarter onions. Toss in a separate bowl with olive oil, freshly ground pepper and salt to taste. Let steep about 30 min.

Take beef out of the fridge and thread onto skewers, fairly snuggly spaced (again, see photos for reference). Try to swipe up some of the marinade as you take them out of the bowl. Keep the skewers on a plate to take to the grill and let them come to room temperature. Reserve the extra marinade!

Repeat skewering process with vegetables on separate skewers.

Heat up the grill! Oil the grate. Make yourself hot and medium zones however is appropriate for your gas/charcoal grill.

Pour remaining marinade into a cast iron or other pan on the stovetop and cook down into a gravy. Pour into a gravy boat or pitcher to pass around the table with the meal.

Place beef over the hotter area of your grill. Place vegetable skewers in the cooler zone. Cook, turning every 4 minutes until beef registers 120 degrees F for medium rare (our recommendation), about ten minutes. Remove beef from the grill and tent with foil. Continue cooking veg for 5 min more or until done.

Slide the beef and veg off their respective skewers back into clean bowls and distribute to plates, or serve on the skewers!

]]>http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/easy-marinated-steak-skewers/feed/018453http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/easy-marinated-steak-skewers/The Rich & Glamorous Life of the Farmer-Writerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smithmeadows/~3/RxH_SKg9Ar8/
http://smithmeadows.com/farm/rich-glamorous-life-farmer-writer/#commentsSun, 26 Mar 2017 23:42:37 +0000http://new.smithmeadows.com/?p=6425It's widely known that farming is a lucrative occupation, typically reserved for jet-setters, celebrities, and the crustiest of the upper-crust. Think about it. Dollar bills are 75% cotton & 25% linen; money doesn't grow on trees, but it does grow straight out of the ground. Why worry about droughts when you can "make it rain" [...]

]]>It’s widely known that farming is a lucrative occupation, typically reserved for jet-setters, celebrities, and the crustiest of the upper-crust. Think about it. Dollar bills are 75% cotton & 25% linen; money doesn’t grow on trees, but it does grow straight out of the ground. Why worry about droughts when you can “make it rain” whenever you want? Some people think you have to be lucky to be a farmer, but here’s an insider tip: you can quadruple your luck if you raise horses (4 horseshoes) or rabbits (4… well, you know). An added bonus, there are four-leaf clovers all over the pasture for free! No one can argue that farmers have it made.

Why is there a stunt chicken on my head? Don’t ask me, ask wardrobe.

Of course, everyone agrees the only thing more profitable than farming is writing. Overwhelmed by sheer demand, universities have recently limited the number of students allowed to be English majors. After all, with all the public funding for the arts, how could a writer not make millions? Consider your local poets, driving around town in their fancy convertibles, flamboyantly slamming poetry whenever they damn-well please. But try not to be jealous. As the old saying goes, “Don’t Hate the Playwright, Hate the Game.”

By now, I know what you’re probably thinking: “Wow! The only thing more glamorous than being a farmer or a writer must be combining the two!” Correct you’d be. And this epiphany might lead you to a logical conclusion: “If only I was lucky enough to have a glimpse into this rich and fabulous world, my boring life would change forever!”

Fret not, hoi polloi. This farmer-writer has your back (noblesse oblige and whatnot). I was reminded of my elite social status recently when I received a gift in the mail (btw, receiving gifts is the sort of thing that happens to farmer-writers all the time!) from the website OnPasture.com, containing an exclusive writers’ jacket:

#legit

As mentioned, this gift came from On Pasture, a website where farmer-writers like myself congregate to share insights into making even more money, and being even more glamorous than we already are. (I know, hard to believe… but remember, this is insider access!). More specifically, we discuss ways to do this while raising animals sustainably ‘on pasture’. If you read between the lines, you can probably infer what I’m actually talking about here: GOLD. You know, like hatching geese that lay golden eggs, flocks of sheep with golden fleeces, grabbing bulls by their golden horns, etc., etc.

Naturally, due to my demanding social schedule, I sometimes forget how websites like this can help the less fortunate. Well, here’s a solid-gold tip for you: THE ON PASTURE WEBSITE IS TOTALLY FREE! That’s right, all you have to do is click the link, and it will whisk you away to lifestyles of the affluent and fabulous. To give you a sense of what you’ll find, here’s a photo-essay of me in my author jacket–looking fabulous, natch–and writing about the topics covered ‘on’ On Pasture.

Taking a six inch soil sample. That core looks almost as good as me!

Writing on a compost pile. Brown gold, Jerry!

All about sheep. Looking good in my On Pasture author jacket, even from behind!

Managing my farming-writing money all at once… It requires both hands!

Writing on a barn. Celebrities like to get high.

Up close with farm implements. Get the point?

On a tractor. That mud detailing cost $5,000, but I was all like ‘honey badger don’t care.’

How about me writing on a hay bale? Far out!

Here I am writing about pigs. That’s all, just writing about pigs.

About clean water… The takeaway is pretty clear.

Me & my entourage.

Gotta know your global markets. Here, I’m at the farmers’ market.

And finally, this is me with a goose, a 19th century corn sheller, and a beat-up old hog drinker. Helllllloooo, ladies.

As you can see, the life of the farmer-writer is an exclusive journey filled with riches, glamour, and exotic locales. But don’t take my word for it, subscribe for free to On Pasture. Gotta run, I’m meeting Sir Elton John in Spain, I’m traveling tonight on a plane. And for even more stories about stinking rich farmer-writers, check out my books below:

]]>http://smithmeadows.com/farm/rich-glamorous-life-farmer-writer/feed/36425http://smithmeadows.com/farm/rich-glamorous-life-farmer-writer/Lamb and Root Stewhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smithmeadows/~3/q1uAAUsPoXU/
http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/lamb-root-stew/#respondFri, 17 Mar 2017 22:14:32 +0000http://new.smithmeadows.com/?p=6378Finally, it's starting to feel like spring! March came through like a somewhat confused lion, so it's only appropriate we celebrate the last chilly evenings with lamb. There are all kinds of things you can do with lamb, vegetables and little time, so consider this recipe a helpful baseline for future experimentation. I started by reading Alice [...]

Finally, it’s starting to feel like spring! March came through like a somewhat confused lion, so it’s only appropriate we celebrate the last chilly evenings with lamb.

There are all kinds of things you can do with lamb, vegetables and little time, so consider this recipe a helpful baseline for future experimentation. I started by reading Alice Waters’ recommendations for stew as well as Julia Child’s notes on lamb in a variation on Boeuf Bourguinon and Civet de Mouton, then peered in the veggie drawer and made do! All the meat and veg used below came from local DC farmers markets. If you’re fortunate enough to have hoarded some of Next Step Produce’s barley this goes very well over that, or other barley, or with amazing crusty bread or over some Smith Meadows fresh noodles.

Pat the lamb cubes dry and season lightly with salt and pepper, hours or the night before if you think of it. While they absorb seasoning and come to room temperature, chop the vegetables into large bite-sized pieces. They need to not cook too quickly and also not be cumbersome in the finished product.

Heat a cast iron pot that has a lid over medium heat with the bacon fat. Sear the lamb cubes in batches so that they’re not crowded. Tongs are best for this. Place them in a large mixing bowl as they finish.

Do the same with the vegetables, just enough to get a little extra flavor into them. Place these in the mixing bowl with the lamb for the moment. This all takes a little while! Add a little more bacon fat if needed but try not to wind up with a puddle at the end- this can be poured off as needed at the risk of losing a bit of flavor. You can also roast the whole shebang in the oven but then you don’t get the benefits of the next step…

Deglaze the pot with the wine, scrape up any stuck bits of meat and vegetable and let it simmer for a minute to cook down a little. Add the broth and bring back to a simmer.

Carefully scoop all the lamb and vegetables back into the pot. The liquid should not quite cover it all, add a bit more broth or water as needed. Also add the garlic, herbs and spices (experiment with flavors here!) and a bit of salt and pepper.

Bring it all back to a very, very low simmer, place the lid on slightly askew so some steam may escape, and set a timer for two hours. If the stew boils too hard the broth will become cloudy and we don’t want that.

Give the lamb cubes a bit of a poke- they should be just starting to fall apart. Salt and pepper to taste and that’s it! Serve with your absorbent carb of choice.

]]>http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/lamb-root-stew/feed/06378http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/lamb-root-stew/Crock Pot Sirloin Tip Roasthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smithmeadows/~3/rNg4govOImE/
http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/crock-pot-sirloin-tip-roast/#respondTue, 31 Jan 2017 23:22:29 +0000http://new.smithmeadows.com/?p=6262We're all so busy these days juggling work and family and life! This recipe is incredibly easy to prep and leave while you get on with things and come back to a comforting, hearty dinner. It comes from the kitchen of Andrea Dove, one of our wonderful employees who is a farmer, photographer and mother. Beef [...]

We’re all so busy these days juggling work and family and life! This recipe is incredibly easy to prep and leave while you get on with things and come back to a comforting, hearty dinner. It comes from the kitchen of Andrea Dove, one of our wonderful employees who is a farmer, photographer and mother.

Beef Sirloin Tip Roast in the Crock Pot (serves family of 3-4)

1 Smith Meadows Beef Sirloin Tip Roast, 2-3 lbs

Cayenne pepper

Montreal steak seasoning

Oregano

Italian seasoning

Minced onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 red onion, diced as desired

2 celery stalks, diced to 1/2 inch

Other diced veg like tomatoes, carrots, potatoes…

Place the (defrosted) sirloin tip roast in the crock pot

Lightly drizzle the top of the sirloin tip roast with all the spices and herbs listed above (to your preference. Remember cayenne pepper is spicy!)

Place the diced red onion on top of the roast

Place the celery around the roast, along with any other diced vegetables

Place lid on crock pot and cook on HIGH for 5-7 hours

The results will be a delicious and tender beefy roast that will fall apart on your fork! The broth it creates can be cooked down a bit into a hearty beef gravy for mashed potatoes.

You know our bone-in pork chops are juicy and flavorful, so why not double down! Grab a 2-3 pound pork tenderloin roast from us at market to cut your own super-thick or custom sized boneless chops.

Our pork tends to be fairly lean, since the hogs are trotting back and forth on pasture all day, so we didn’t see a need to trim the roast. Plus we know that pastured pork is much higher in natural omega-3s from eating all that forage, and that nutritional benefit to you comes via the fat. See Nancy’s post on pork lard here.

Interestingly, the original recipe for these chops mentioned using “natural pork” which we usually assume is just greenwashing. In this case it actually referred to the difference with “enhanced” pork, which has been injected with a salt and preservative solution. The enhanced stuff doesn’t brown and has dull flavor. Our pork is definitely not enhanced. No hormones, no antibiotics, no preservatives, no nonsense.

Chops can be paired with all sorts of things, so we’ll leave that up to you. Here we simply baked a spaghetti squash and topped it with butter and fresh ground pepper, sauteed some purple kale (Gardener’s Gourmet) with garlic and grated cheese on top, and whipped up an apple/red wine/balsamic sauce for the chops. Chops would also go great with a few of our ravioli, butternut squash comes to mind, or maybe bacon sage?

Pan-Seared Thick Cut Pork Chops

Original recipe from Cooks Illustrated

1 2-3 lb Smith Meadows pasture-raised pork tenderloin roast

dash of salt and pepper

2 tablespoons high heat vegetable oil

Place a cast iron skillet big enough to hold as many chops as you’re making in the oven. Turn oven to 500F and let the pan heat completely. Note: if you don’t usually heat your oven this hot your smoke alarm may go off! Prep your sides while you wait, start anything like squash or potatoes.

Meanwhile, cut your roast into even sized pieces as thick as you’d like. I actually used a (washable) ruler to get 1.5″ chops. Salt and pepper chops on both sides. Try smoked salt if you have it handy.

Carefully, with thick oven mitts, remove skillet from the oven and place over high heat on the stovetop. Add the oil and heat until just smoking. Boil water for pasta at this point.

Add chops to the pan with tongs so you can place them where you want them without moving them around. Cook on the first side for 2 minutes until nicely browned, then flip. Keep flipping, adjust the heat as needed, two minutes on each side until a thermometer reads 120-125 degrees F and exterior is darker brown and crispy. Do not leave the chops for too long on a side or they will overcook.

At this point the chops are not yet completely cooked- remove them from the skillet and place on a plate under foil for 10-15 minutes. This is called “carryover cooking”- the chops will continue to heat until they are about 140 degrees F. They should be light pink in the centers when done. Fire any quick-cooking sides while the chops rest on the plate- sauteed greens take ~5 min, ravioli boil in 2 min.

]]>http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/thick-cut-boneless-pork-chops/feed/36244http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/thick-cut-boneless-pork-chops/Comfort Food Recipe- Bacon and Pasta!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smithmeadows/~3/OeR4NstzTC0/
http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/comfort-food-recipe-bacon-and-pasta/#respondSat, 21 Jan 2017 00:50:33 +0000http://new.smithmeadows.com/?p=6218Need something warm and comforting for dinner? When in doubt, BACON. This bears some similarity to our sausage and pasta recipe- frankly we eat a lot of meat+pasta+veg. I mean, what else is there? Next week will be a roast, promise! This recipe originated here, and then changed a bit. Add a small salad if you [...]

Need something warm and comforting for dinner? When in doubt, BACON. This bears some similarity to our sausage and pasta recipe– frankly we eat a lot of meat+pasta+veg. I mean, what else is there? Next week will be a roast, promise!

This recipe originated here, and then changed a bit. Add a small salad if you need more to your meal!

1/2 package of Smith Meadows Noodles- I used Winter Wheat and Oat this time but whichever you like!

Cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet until crispy, place on paper towel to absorb extra grease and then crumble.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from pan. Heat over moderate flame and add the onions. Cook until slightly browned and starting to soften.

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

Add in parsnips, broth, vinegar, brown sugar and pepper flakes (I chopped a dried pepper from my garden, it turned out a little on the hot side). Stir until the sugar is dissolved and parsnips have softened up a bit.

Add in half the bacon and all of the collards, toss to wilt and combine, let simmer to reduce the broth to a sauce.

While the veg is simmering a bit, toss the pasta in the boiling water for two minutes, then drain.

Add pasta to veg pan and toss everything together- you should have just enough liquid between extra water on the pasta and bacon flavored broth to give everything a little sauce without being soupy. Portion into dishes or serve in a nice big pasta bowl!

]]>http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/comfort-food-recipe-bacon-and-pasta/feed/06218http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/comfort-food-recipe-bacon-and-pasta/Master Recipe- Sausage and Pastahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smithmeadows/~3/SuIibNH5ltw/
http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/master-recipe-sausage-and-pasta/#respondFri, 13 Jan 2017 17:50:46 +0000http://new.smithmeadows.com/?p=6198Have you ever found yourself staring into the fridge wondering what to do with all that Smith Meadows sausage and fresh pasta? This week it was pork sage sausage and spelt and oat pasta...

Have you ever found yourself staring into the fridge wondering what to do with all that Smith Meadows sausage and fresh pasta? One of my favourite things is making a simple pan sauce from the sausage and tossing it with whichever variety of noodles Nancy made that week. This week it was pork sage sausage (our newest addition!) and spelt and oat pasta (which we have every week).

You can make any number of variations to this recipe, including tossing in some greens with the pasta as it boils or other veg (carrots, brussels sprouts, greens, peppers…) with the onions and sausage. Using a broth to deglaze the pan will give you a nice simple sauce flavor to complement the herb sausages (add some fresh herbs of your own!) or you can try using a beer with our kielbasa or bratwurst. Cooking will emphasize the flavours of the beer so go for something malty rather than hoppy.

I’m also including a recipe for a Warm Winter Vegetable Salad below, because it’s really easy and will go with the noodles! Plus it’s Whole 30 compatible.

Sausage and pan sauce over fresh noodles (2 moderate servings)

2 tbl butter

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 Smith Meadows sausages

10 ounces broth (veg, chicken, or turkey) or beer, like a lager

1/2 package fresh Smith Meadows noodles

In a large heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, melt the butter and sauté the onions over medium heat until translucent

Add the sausage to the pan and brown on each side for a few minutes (add some heartier veg here if you choose)

Pour your liquid of choice over the sausage and onions, scraping the bottom of the pan a bit. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced, about 25 minutes, until it’s more sauce-like and a bit thickened. (add greens here if cooking with sausage)

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

When your sausage liquid is reduced to a reasonable amount to coat the pasta with, drop the noodles (and greens, if you like them more wilted) into the boiling water, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Drain noodles in a colander and place in serving dish(es).

Place sausages on the noodles and pour the pan sauce and onions over everything. Toss to coat and serve with a salad if you didn’t add vegetables while cooking!

Warm Winter Vegetable Salad (2 servings)

Thanks to Martha Stewart for the original recipe! This dressing mellows with a little age, and it makes enough to last for several days. Having tried cooking the veg by boiling and steaming I’d recommend steaming, which retains more nutrients and uses less water.

Vegetables:

1 pint Brussels sprouts

2 cups of chopped carrots

1 med red potato or sweet potato to equal about 1 cup chopped

Substitute and add any veg you like! Cauliflower? Broccoli? Squash?

2 scallions, chopped

Dressing (1.5 cups):

1 Smith Meadows egg

2 tbl dijon mustard

3 tbl cider vinegar

1 tbl celery seed (I used coriander, ground with a mortar and pestle)

3/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the egg, mustard, vinegar and celery/coriander in a mixing bowl. While whisking constantly (the whisk attachment on my immersion blender is great for this) slowly add the oil until the dressing is thick. Salt and pepper to taste.

Boil enough water to cover vegetables or to work with your preferred steaming method.

Clean and chop your vegetables and add them in order of cooking time- potatoes first, then carrots, Brussels sprouts at the last minute so they stay crunchy!

Drain and place the vegetables in your serving dish(es) and pour as much dressing as you like over it. Save any extra in the fridge for up to a week. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve!

Now that we’re entering the chilly season, many market customers have been asking if we’ll sell broth again this year. We previously sold a broth made from our beef and turkey bones- it may yet reappear! In the meantime, here’s my basic beef bone broth recipe:

Note: If you don’t have a slow cooker, a pot on the stove will do and 4 hours will get you a nice broth. The longer steep time leaches more minerals from the bones and tends to result in a more gelatinous broth.

A sample of our beef soup bones- each pack is different, often some knuckles and collagen rich pieces with a little meat on them.

Turn oven to 350F and start a kettle of water boiling.

Arrange beef bones in a Pyrex baking dish that will hold them with a little room to spare

Trim (or not) and quarter a large onion and stud it with cloves (see photo). Arrange it around the beef bits in the baking dish.

Pop the whole shebang in the oven for around 30 min, until the edges of things look browned.

Remove from oven and immediately deglaze using the wine or vinegar (ie pour it into/over the bones and shake things a bit).

Scrape everything including the stuck bits in the bottom of the baking dish into your slow cooker (mine is just a 4 qt, 5 qt would be a little better) and cover with the boiled water.

Bring to a boil/steady bubbling on high and then turn your slow cooker to low for about 24 hours.

Turn slow cooker off and let cool a bit so it’s easier to handle. Place a strainer large enough to hold the bones over a pyrex or metal bowl large enough for the liquid and pour contents of slow cooker through. Shake the strainer a bit to get all the liquid out. Discard the remnants.

Cover and let the broth cool, then place in the fridge until any fat has solidified on top, a few hours. Simply crack and pry up the fat, scraping broth off the underside, and reserve it for cooking with (I keep mine frozen)!

Depending on the batch of bones, your broth may be somewhat or very jiggly (see a sample below)! Either scoop or pour into smaller containers or ice cube trays, refrigerate for up to one week or freeze. Enjoy!

]]>http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/beef-bone-broth-recipe/feed/06096http://smithmeadows.com/kitchen/beef-bone-broth-recipe/It’s the Newest Trend: Early Summer Vichyssoise!http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smithmeadows/~3/WVJaJ7r2J74/
http://smithmeadows.com/farm/its-the-newest-trend-early-summer-vichyssoise/#respondFri, 24 Jun 2016 10:33:01 +0000http://new.smithmeadows.com/?p=5988"Smith Meadows & Smithfield Farm, Hold Please..." Socializing in a farming community is a little different than the visual parade of trend setters that populate many of the farmers markets Smith Meadows attends. On Mondays at the farm the array of colorful people and their accessories are replaced by the quieter splendor of what's in the [...]

Socializing in a farming community is a little different than the visual parade of trend setters that populate many of the farmers markets Smith Meadows attends. On Mondays at the farm the array of colorful people and their accessories are replaced by the quieter splendor of what’s in the fields. The banter of weekend shoppers is muted. Farmers and cooks converse on how to translate this splendor into physical and psychological sustenance for the following weekend.

“Pot pies didn’t sell that well this weekend. I think the season is over. Do you want to add cold minestrone to the list for this week?”

“You’re right. I’ll text Shawna and see what’s available. Zucchini might be in, but there are no tomatoes yet and onions are still small.”

Hi Shawna, I wanted to order ingredients for minestrone. I know it’s a long shot, but let me know what you have and I can tailor the recipe.

After an hour or so of paperwork, I turn to my phone to see what Oak Hart Farm’s owner, Shawna, has sent in reply.

Good Morning Nancy, I have onions but they are the size of golf balls. Zukes and tomatoes are just coming in, but I do have cabbage, broccoli, fennel, kale, collards and salad turnips.

Let me think on those and get back to you later today. Thanks!

Turnips, Collards and Fennel, OH MY!

I like collards, turnips and fennel, but getting trend setters to try them is challenging. How do you combine nutritionally dense, low calorie, organic produce into eye candy for the world weary market shopper? I dream of something that everyone in my house would eat. It needs to make the day easier for a busy mom with much more on my to do list than dinner. In this way, the farming community is no different than any other group of adults. My son would not touch collards on their own. I tried boiled turnips once and told him they were white beets. He was three and still remembers it. Fennel tastes too much like licorice for my husband, which never fails to wrinkle his nose. Tough crowd at my house- not unlike farmers market shoppers.

What to do? How about Vichyssoise? It’s creamy, it involves butter, it can be eaten cold and it goes well with empanadas or roasted sausage. Now how do I make this with turnips, fennel and collards as the main ingredients. I’m not sure yet, but I place my order with Oak Hart for my co-worker to pick up on her way to our farm.

Julia Childs- “First you take the turnip…”

I have a happy memory of Vichyssoise. One of my best friend’s served it at her bridal shower. It felt sophisticated to eat something we had always made fun of as children for its ridiculous sound. As young adults we thought, “My, how far we’ve come. Let us eat Vichyssoise!” It’s basically cold potato soup that’s full of onions, leeks, and cream. As I search through Mother Earth, Food 52 and Running with Tweezers’ various renditions, I settle on something that fits what I have on my kitchen table. I take the high turnip ratio from Mother Earth, refine it with the butter of Food 52, spice it up with the nutmeg & cayenne of Running with Tweezers and add my own panache. I also look at Julia Child’s recipe for Potage aux Cresson for good measure. How does it taste? My business partner’s response sums it up…

“It’s good. It’s very Irish. I like it.”

“Enough heat?”

“Yes! I think it will taste even better cold.”

After reading Tim Carman’s insightful article in the Washington Post, as well as the positive comments from our loyal customers, I felt I had to do something new this week. It’s not to please the trend setters or create a new lifestyle choice. It’s because pot pie season was over. It’s because turnips, collards and fennel are in plentiful supply with the veggie farmer I talk to every week. More importantly, it’s because I want something that would work with my busy and picky family.

Building community is more than showing up on a Saturday in your new sandals and sunhat. It’s making something work with what you have around you. I have the good fortune of having amazing farmers, fertile land and intelligent customers. This is why I make Early Summer Vichyssoise. Try it! You’ll love it and check out what else we have this week from our kitchen!

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 2 small handfuls of salt. Wash and chop the kale into ribbons the same width as the papardelle. Put the stems aside. Place the sautéed onions, roasted pistachios, lemon juice, lemon zest, 2 TBSPS olive oil, salt and kale stems into a food processor. Chop until you get a chunky consistency that suits your palate.

Once the water comes to a boil, throw the kale in first. Wait 15-30 seconds. Add the papardelle. Cook for two minutes. Drain the pasta. Toss with the pistachio pesto and the cream or more olive oil. If it is too dry, add the broth or reserved pasta water. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and/or cracked Szechuan pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Serve with a glass of chardonnay and follow up with a winter salad of greens, fennel, grapefruit and olive oil!